Grant helps pave DeVictor Park trail

R.D. Johnson Excavating is nearing completion of its latest work at the 40-acre greenbelt park: extending a section of concrete trail by a quarter-mile.

The $39,499 contract is being financed, in part, by a $15,000 grant from the Topeka-based Sunflower Foundation, whose Sunflower Trails program helps communities create projects designed to increase physical activity. Lawrence Parks & Recreation is paying the rest.

Once the latest work is finished, about 2.5 miles of the park’s 4-mile-long trail will be paved, said Mark Hecker, assistant director of parks and recreation. The concrete portion of the path is 8 feet wide, while the rest is a “natural area” cleared using mowers.

“Eventually we’d like to do more, to connect the rest of the park together,” Hecker said.

The park is northeast of Bob Billings Parkway and George Williams Way. The trail serves as a popular route for children walking to nearby Langston Hughes School, Hecker said.